By Carol Britton Meyer

At its most recent meeting the school committee was formally introduced to the new assistant principal at the Jacobs Elementary School. Principal Kyle Shaw said first-grade teacher Lindsey Rajan, who has taught there for the past seven years, will move into her new role July 1.

JACOBS SCHOOL ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL Lindsey Rajan

“We had more than 30 candidates – including four internal ones – and deciding was hard, but Lindsey’s exemplary skills in the classroom coupled with her passion for curriculum and instruction will be a great complement not only to myself, but she will also be the perfect fit for the administrative model that will come to be with the consolidation,” Shaw said. “Lindsey will lead the early childhood wing of the school moving forward.”

Rajan said she is “incredibly grateful” for her time spent so far “in this exceptional school” and is looking forward to drawing upon the “knowledge and passion” she has gained while working at the Jacobs in her new role.

“I’m looking forward to helping to bring [Shaw’s] vision to life in collaboration with [the entire school community] to ensure that every child reaches their potential,” she said.

Chair Stephanie Peters and other school committee members, along with Superintendent of Schools Judith Kuehn, were pleased to have been able to promote from within.

“We thought you were the best match to continue to move Jacobs School forward,” Kuehn said. “We have a lot of confidence in your partnering with Kyle and the leadership team to move us forward.”

Implementation of the first phase of the Best Educational Use of School Facilities Plan, which will consolidate the current three buildings into two, is progressing, Kuehn said.

“It’s a good plan, and we will be on time with everything,” she reported.

Phase 1 calls for housing Pre-K through 6 at Jacobs Elementary School, grades 7 and 8 at Memorial Middle School, and grades 9 through 12 at the high school for the 2023-24 school year.

Phase 2 would implement the final reconfiguration, where Jacobs School would house grades PreK to 7 and the high school grades 8 to 12, beginning with the 2024-25 school year.

The school committee also learned that surplus student desks that had been stored at the Jacobs and then posted on a state auction site were recently purchased by individuals from Ghana who traveled from New Jersey to pick them up.

“They are raising money to send school items back to their country,” Kuehn said.